Drawing 1: Archeologists' conception of how the barricade at Horseshoe Bend was constructed.

(Courtesy of the Alabama Archeologist Society. Drawing by James McKinley)

Scholars know that the barricade was five to eight feet high and ran in a zigzag fashion across the peninsula, and that the defenders arranged logs around the barricade to make the defenses even harder to approach. Studies suggest that the barricade was probably designed by Red Eagle, who was familiar with defensive works at Mobile and Pensacola.

Questions for Drawing 1

1. Which of the barricades elements would have made it part of an effective defense?

2. Would such a fortification be effective today?

3. Which elements would modern technology render useless? What parts would still work?

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